Patterns in Resource Consumption

Patterns in Resource Consumption
Ecological Footprints * This is the theoretical measurement of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste, under prevailing technology. * It is measured in acres or hectares and calculates the amount of the earth’s bioproductive space – ecologically productive land and water – a given population is consuming. * The calculation takes into account the following:

* Arable land – the amount of land required for growing crops. * Pasture land – resources required for growing animals for meat, hides, milk, etc. * Forests – for fuel, furniture and buildings, and also for ecosystems services like climate stability and erosion prevention. * Oceans – for fish and other marine products.

* Infrastructure – transportation, factories and housing, based on the built-up land used for these needs. * Energy costs – land required for absorbing carbon dioxide emissions and other energy wastes. * Species extinction and toxic pollution of the air, water and land are not yet taken into account in calculating ecological footprints. Our global and national footprints

* The planet’s biological productive capacity (biocapacity) is around 1.9 hectares or 4.7 acres per person but we’re currently using 2.2 hectares per person thus living beyond the planet’s biocapacity to sustain us by 15%. * This deficit is showing up as failing natural ecosystems – forests, oceans, fisheries, coral reefs, rivers, soils and water – and global warming. * The planet’s biocapacity is affected by the global population and the rate of consumption- higher consumption depletes the planet’s carrying, renewal and regeneration capacity. * If global population trends continue, the ecological footprint available would reduce to 1.5 hectares per person by 2050 and if the world’s rate of consumption increases to the same rate as rich western countries, we would need 4 or 5...

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Appetite
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/appet
Research report
Food consumptionpatterns and economic growth. Increasing afﬂuence and the use of natural resources
P.W. Gerbens-Leenes a,*, S. Nonhebel b, M.S. Krol a
a b
Faculty of Engineering Technology, Water Engineering and Management, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, The Netherlands Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (IVEM), University of Groningen, Nijenborg 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T
Article history: Received 11 March 2010 Received in revised form 1 September 2010 Accepted 14 September 2010 Keywords: Dietary change Economic development Natural resource use Nutrition transition Food consumptionpatterns
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resource
An economic or productive factor required to accomplish an activity, or as means to undertake an enterprise and achieve desired outcome. Three most basic resources are land, labor, and capital; other resources include energy, entrepreneurship, information, expertise, management, and time.
Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many natural resources are essential for human survival, while others are used for satisfying human desire. Conservation is the management of natural resources with the goal of sustainability. Natural resources may be further classified in different ways.[1]
Resources can be categorized on the basis of origin:
Abiotic resources comprise non-living things (e.g., land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver).
Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere. Forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms are important examples. Minerals such as coal and petroleum are sometimes included in this category because they were formed from fossilized organic matter, though over long periods of time.
Natural resources are also categorized based on the stage of development:
Potential Resources are known to exist and may be used in the future. For example, petroleum may exist in...

...Spreading in to areas like ears and face, but it seldom produces any discomfort for a baby. The hot and humid conditions become a hindrance to the sweat glands becoming blocked. This result in skin cells and bacteria may block the sweat glands, leading to sweat being retained and building up on the skin leading to inflammation, which causes the rash. Indian summers bring along with them peculiar conditions, one of them being prickly heat. And this has led to the emergence of prickly heat powders, a staple product on shelves of many consumers. The major players in this category are now upping their ante for the summer as they try to gain more market share.
THE FOLLOWING STUDY HAS BEEN DONE SOLELY FROM SECONDARY RESEARCH TO SHOW THE CONSUMPTIONPATTERN OF PRICKLY HEAT POWDERS IN KOLKATA.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PRICKLY HEAT POWDER USERS:
Prickly heat powder users | PERCENTAGE |
YES | 96% |
NO | 4% |
INTERPRETATION: 96% of the people who use powder are users of prickly heat powders. This signifies the main intent of the customers for the “usage of powder”. In other words, their basic need form the product.
Classifications based on prickly heat powder throughout the year:
Prickly heat powder throughout the year | PERCENTAGE |
YES | 67.33% |
NO | 32.66% |
These further shows the fact that most of the customers for body powder or talcum powder is inclined towards prickly heat powders. The weather in...